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Recently Fremont was hit with the loss of three young lives while the 4th is recovering day by day not only from physical wounds but also emotional as well.

Some days it is just an overwhelming turn off the tv and radio kind of day.

Then there are moments like these. Moments where the World for 3 seconds seems right. Where Hope soars, I choke back tears of joy, and the worries fade away. Moments when the best of people break through the sadness in the World.

Every person in your life has a moment, good or bad, that you grow from. Yes, you may not want to admit it.Just like I hold grudges, like towards my 5th grade teacher and think it was a horrible year for me, but yet again I grew from it.

I get the privilege to work in a field where everyday I see compassion. I am surrounded by fellow employees who work in a field where we give and give and give. It’s our passion and we get fulfilled from it. We walk away everyday knowing that even if it was giving a flu shot, we helped someone.

There is a miracle in people you just have to look for it.

We will go places and get stares at Jacoby, the wonders of what happened to him or what we did to him. Or the favorite We live off the State comments. But then we get the people who tell Jacoby “cool wheels” (He has light up wheels on the front of his wheelchair) or people who stop us an tell us how awesome it is that he wheels himself or how cute he is (yes he is really really cute).

Jacoby dealt with bullies this year, even at one point stooping to their level (trust me it happened once and lesson was learned). After an email about open practice for Team USA, Mike Kult, the coach of the Omaha Red Dawgs, a National Championship Wheelchair Basketball team,and a wheelchair sports champ himself, allowed us to come watch Team USA practice. It was an awe inspiring miraculous amazing heart lifting doubt breaking thing to see. But even more so, the fears, doubts, the case of the I Can’t that Jacoby had seemed to pick up this year melted away as he got more comfortable there. These men broke through every barrier they had in front of them and were everything I wanted my son to see and be. Even more they opened up to him, giving him high fives, talking to him, racing him and allowing him to win. The World was at peace during this time.

I often get overwhelmed with emotions but you just have to stop and look around. Think. Breathe. It’s easy to just see the black in the white. But its better to focus on the white.

I think of the friends that I’d had and used to be close to. The friends I’d never thought I’d not talk to everyday but how we are now walking different paths and are merely acquaintances. I think about how sad it is, but how they were there when I needed them at the time and the support through some rough moments. I can dwell of the changes on the growth apart but I choose the memories of the laughing, the apartment parties, the birthdays together and the fact that we are all ok.

I think of my friends now. How they have watched me grow so much this last year, graduate college, love my kids and are ever present support for me as I navigate everyday life. They are the white in this World.

I think of my Special Mom friends, who notice when I drop off for a week or two and text me to say they know I must be struggling with J’s therapies or tests or Dr Appts. and want to let me know they are there for me and the ever present never spoken ‘I Understand”.

I think of my family in which they have watched us fall and rise and struggle, knowing they’d do it all for us but knowing we needed to do it on our own. The family that pray for us every night without fail and the family that if I asked for anything, would drop it and do it.

There is this thing called Compassion. It is the greatest gift we can give to each other. It is the Miracle in people.

So I challenge you my friends, to look for this in every day life. In anyone you come across. Stop and look around for the good stories, the people who are raising money for others, or helping someone across the road or with a flat tire. Even in this overwhelmingly dark sad news focused World, there are people who can be the white to the black. Also, look at yourself and ask if you are the white or the black. And try to be the white in someone’s day.